February 21, 2014

Duke Journals in the Wild

At Duke University Press, we always appreciate when our books and journals are recognized, even in the most round-about ways. When we see a DUP journal in the wild, it’s always a thrill, even more so when that ‘wild’ is in popular culture.

Our journal New German Critique makes a cameo in Jhumpa Lahiri’s new book The Lowland, when several issues of the journal are given to a character for her studies:

“He returned to the desk and wrote down the names of a few books he recommended, telling her which chapters were most important. From the shelves he lent her his own copies of Adorno and McTaggart, with his annotations. He gave her copies of New German Critique, indicating some articles she should read.” (Lahiri, 2013)

Another reference to our journals in popular culture comes from the movie, Stranger than Fiction, released by Colombia Pictures in 2006. Dustin Hoffman carries around his copy of Poetics Today while advising Will Ferrell’s character on his possible status as a fictional being.

Duke University Press author Sol Yurick, who passed away in 2013, had his most famous novel, The Warriors, made into a movie in 1979.The film holds a cult classic place in cinema history and is referenced countless times in media and pop culture. One of Yurick’s other novels was also adapted into the movie The Confession in 1999, starring Ben Kinglsey and Alec Baldwin.

Around the Press, Yurick is known for writing quite a few articles for our journal Social Text, including:

"Some Notes on Iraq" (#27)

"How the Athenians Planned to Colonize the West and Immortalize Themselves" (#23)

"The Destiny Algorithm" (#19/20)

"Faust's Stages of Spiritual/Economic Growth and the Takeoff into Transcendence" (#17)

"The Other Side" (#9/10)

Have you seen our books and journals referenced in pop culture? Send us a photo on Twitter—we want to know! @DUKEpress